Adult: Sexes are alike. Adults are dark brown nape, breast, belly, sides, back, wings, rump and tail. with bright pink, featherless face. Pale beak and pink featherless legs. Juvenile: Like adult except black head and feet. Flight: Broad wings and rounded tail. Soars in circles for very long periods of time. Very dark wings in flight with very light colored primaries and secondaries. Pink head can be visible. Habitat: Fields, urban areas, semi-arid deserts, dumps and cliffs. Voice: Hissing. Size: 26 inches long, 69 inch wingspan. Subspecies: C. a. aura (nominate) lives from southern California and Texas to Panama. Smallest subspecies. C. a. meridionalis (Western) lives in most of western US down to Panama. Darker than Eastern subspecies; medium-sized. C. a. ruficollis is found in Panama and Trinidad. Yellow or green markings can be found on the head. Yellow patch on the head feathers. C. a. septentrionallis (Eastern) lives in eastern US; they don’t migrate out of the country. Largest subspecies. Similar Species: Black Vulture is similar overall. Black secondaries. White primaries. Black, featherless head. Shorter wings. Zone-tailed Hawk has grayer primaries and secondaries with black barring. Barred black and white tail. Black, feathered head with black-tipped yellow beak. Immature Golden Eagle has golden nape. Two white spots on underside of wings and yellow beak. Red-tailed Hawk has white breast and wings. Brown band on belly. Shorter but broader wings.
namericanbirds 